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Here, gathered in our beloved South Dakota, are a few members of our Williamson / Mattson Clan. Charles and Luella are to be blamed (be kind, they didn't know what they were doing). We're generally a happy bunch and somewhat intelligent (notwithstanding our tenuous grasp on reality). I'm also proud to say that most of us still have our teeth.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Emma Hamilton played our cousin Anne Stanhope in the miniseries "The Tudors"

From the Fortress of SolitudePleasant Grove

Hello All,Tonight is the annual Mattson Christmas Party. It is always nice to get together to catch up on family news and see how all the cousins are growing. I'll take my camera and capture a few startling photos of the us being our peculiar selves.

Today we want to meet Anne Stanhope, our 1st cousin 16 times removed. We begin with the Relationship Chart.

Anne Stanhope (1510 - 1587)

is your 1st cousin 16x removed

Elizabeth Bourchier (1474 - 1557)

Mother of Anne

Fulke Bourchier (1445 - 1479)

Father of Elizabeth

John Bourchier (1470 - 1539)

Son of Fulke

John Bourchier (1499 - 1560)

Son of John

Elizabeth Bowchiew (1518 - 1570)

Daughter of John

Richard Chase (1542 - 1611)

Son of Elizabeth

Aquila Chase (1580 - 1670)

Son of Richard

Aquila Chase (1618 - 1670)

Son of Aquila

Sarah Chase (1647 - 1726)

Daughter of Aquila

Abraham Annis (1668 - 1748)

Son of Sarah

John Annis (1700 - 1770)

Son of Abraham

Ezra Annis (1726 - 1818)

Son of John

Abigail Annis (1771 - )

Daughter of Ezra

Phineas Swift (1786 - 1854)

Son of Abigail

Elmira Swift (1809 - 1903)

Daughter of Phineas

Isabella Denora McCrillis (1851 - 1896)

Daughter of Elmira

Vesta Althea Dennis (1892 - 1978)

Daughter of Isabella Denora

Volet Mae Pierce (1918 - 1987)

Daughter of Vesta Althea

Luella, Linda, John and Marvin

to

Us

Edward Seymour (left and right - actor Max Brown who played Edward in the Miniseries "The Tudors"), husband of Anne was Uncle to Edward I of England and brother in law to Henry VIII of England. His sister Anne Seymour was Henry's third wife and mother to Henry's only male heir and future King, Edward.

Edward Tudor, future Edward I. Son of Henry VIII and Anne Seymour.

His Aunt through marriage was our Anne Standhope, married to his Uncle Edward.

Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (née Stanhope) (c. 1510 – 16 April 1587) was the second wife of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, who held the office of Lord Protector during the first part of the reign of his nephew King Edward VI, through whom Anne was briefly the most powerful woman in England. She claimed (without success or entitlement) precedence over the Dowager Queen Catherine Parr.

Anne was born at Sudbury in Suffolk in about 1510, the daughter of Sir Edward Stanhope, of Sudbury (1462 – 6 June 1511) and Elizabeth Bourchier. She had two half-brothers from her father's first marriage to Avelina Clifford. They were Richard Stanhope, and Sir Michael Stanhope.

Her paternal grandparents were Sir Thomas Stanhope and Mary Jerningham, and her maternal grandparents were Fulke Bourchier, 2nd Baron Fitzwaryn and Elizabeth Dynham. Through her mother, Anne was a descendant of Thomas of Woodstock, the youngest son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault.

Anne's snobbery and pride were considered to be intolerable, yet she was highly intelligent and determined.Antonio de Guaras, a Spanish merchant living in London, would later say of her, that she was "more presumptuous than Lucifer".

At some undetermined date between 9 March 1534 and 1535, Anne married Sir Edward Seymour, the eldest brother of Jane Seymour, becoming his second wife. Jane Seymour, Sir Edward's sister, became the third wife of King Henry VIII of England in 1536. Shortly after the king's marriage to Jane, Edward was elevated to Viscount Beauchamp; less than a year and a half later, in October 1537, he was again elevated, from viscount to earl, becoming the first Earl of Hertford (first creation). In 1547, Edward was further elevated to a dukedom, and Anne was thus styled as the Duchess of Somerset.

Edward's first marriage, about 1527, to Catherine Fillol, was annulled. His second marriage was before 9 March 1534 to Anne Stanhope.

Anne had ten children from her marriage to Edward.

Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp of Hache (12 October 1537–1539)

Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (second creation of that title) (22 May 1539–1621), married firstly in November 1560, Lady Catherine Grey, by whom he had two sons; he married secondly in 1582, Frances Howard; and thirdly in 1601, Frances Prannell.

Queen Jane Seymour stood godmother to Anne's first child, Edward, who was born in February 1537. The ceremony was held at Chester Place; besides the queen, Thomas Cromwell and Princess Mary also acted as godparents.This first Edward died at the age of two. A second son was born May 1539 and given the same name. This (second) Edward would be raised to the second creation of the title of Earl of Hertford by Elizabeth I, and subsequently marry a close claimant to the English throne, Lady Catherine Grey, by whom he had two sons.

Anne was present at the wedding ceremony of Henry VIII and Catherine Parr on 12 July 1543.After Henry VIII's death, Edward Seymour acted as King in all but name. With this power, Anne considered herself the first lady of the realm, claiming precedence over Catherine, Henry VIII's widow, following the latter's marriage to Anne's brother-in-law, Thomas Seymour.

Anne considered that the Dowager Queen forfeited her rights of precedence when she married the younger brother of Anne's husband. Anne refused to bear Catherine's train, and even physically tried to push her out of her place at the head of their entrances and exits at court.Anne was quoted as having said of Catherine, "If master admiral (Thomas Seymour) teach his wife no better manners, I am she that will".Catherine, in her turn, privately referred to Anne as "that Hell".Catherine Parr won the battle by invoking the Third Succession Act which clearly stated that Catherine had precedence over all ladies in the realm; in point of fact, as regards precedence, Anne came after Queen Catherine, Lady Mary, Lady Elizabeth and Anne of Cleves. The Duchess, who was described as a "violent woman", wielded considerable power for a short time, which later would reflect negatively on her husband's reputation.

As Lord Protector Edward Seymour wielded almost royal authority. However, he lost his position of power following a show-down between the Privy Council and himself in October 1549. He and his wife were imprisoned in the Tower of London. The Duchess was released after a short time,Somerset himself in January 1550. According to the Imperial ambassador Jehan de Scheyfye, Anne Seymour had made daily visits to the house of the de facto new ruler, John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, who soon allowed Somerset to rejoin the Privy Council. The Duchess of Somerset and the Countess of Warwick then arranged a marriage between their respective eldest son and daughter, Anne Seymour and John Dudley.Somerset fell again into disgrace in October 1551, when he was arrested on charges of conspiring against Warwick, who had recently been created Duke of Northumberland. Somerset was convicted of felony on 1 December 1551 and beheaded on 22 January 1552 on Tower Hill. The Duchess of Somerset had been arrested with her husband and continued in the Tower until 30 May 1553. After Mary I's accession in July and the attainder of the Duke of Northumberland she was allowed to choose from the Dudley family's confiscated household stuffs

She lived out the rest of her life at Shelford. She died on 16 April 1587 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, London.where her tomb with its painted effigy can be viewed.

Translate American Dynasty.

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